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Michael Diamond, executive vice president at Edelman, explains, “Before responding, companies needs to consider their own company culture. You never want to do anything that is not true to your culture.”

He continues, “You also have to consider all the stakeholders. If the company has major news coming up, for a public company that could be important to shareholders, and if the [ex]-employee says something that is not true, you may need to consider some sort of response.”

This brings up an interesting conundrum: do you need to reply in the same fashion the now ex-employee chose?

The answer to that question depends on several factors, including how your current audience will respond to you using that medium.

Of course, before responding, everyone agreed with Besser: “Before you do anything, you should consult legal counsel.”

This may be a new trend, but it is likely to continue. You need to be prepared to respond before a situation like Next Media Animation’s occurs. Waiting to do something, one way or another, could be damaging.

“If you are going to respond, you can’t wait a week to do it. You need to respond in a day or two,” says Diamond. “Just remember that, by creating a public response, you may be drawing attention to the situation.

Because it is impossible to predict what medium someone may use to publically leave a company, your policy should be broad and vague. Include a step-by-step procedure on responding to a situation like this so that your PR team, marketing folks, managers, and legal counsel are ready for the moment. And if you are going to respond publically, do what Next Media Animation did and make it count.